From 1889 on, Jacques Gruber studied in Paris at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He also frequented the studio of the painter Gustave Moreau. In 1893, he joined the Daum company as chief decorator and taught at the Nancy Ecole des Beaux-Arts until 1916.

Before owning his own glass workshop in 1904, Jacques Gruber realized his projects at Charles Gauvillé’s workshop. Although he was mainly interested in glass, he did not neglect the other decorative art aspects. He collaborated with several industrialists and Nancy artisans for whom he produced furniture, bookbinding, and flamed stoneware models and designs. He also drew menus and programs for Nancy printers. He was the master glassworker in Nancy and was sought out by Louis Majorelle, Eugène Corbin, and Albert Bergeret as well as the Chamber of Commerce, the Exelsior brasserie, the Crédit Lyonnais bank, the Magasins Réunis, etc. The graphic and pictorial quality of his work, inspired by naturalism as well as symbolism, is a veritable synthesis of the glassmaking techniques of the time.

Jacques Gruber settled in Paris in 1914 and witnessed a prosperous period of artistic renovation during the Art Deco movement.